High mast light poles are typically several hundred feet tall, which makes it difficult to perform reliable inspections of the upper portions of a pole. Existing methods of inspecting the structural condition of high mast light poles is visually using binoculars from a ground location. These methods do not allow a significantly close inspection of the poles for flaws.
Alternatively, the inspector can use a combination of binoculars and a bucket truck to get to a higher level on the pole. However, the bucket truck is expensive and may require partial lane closures and impact traffic flow. In addition, being high up in a bucket truck is also dangerous to the inspector. Even if the inspector uses a bucket truck, most bucket trucks do not have the reach to raise to the top portion of the poles. Accordingly, what is needed is an inspection system that can perform inspections of the high mast light poles safely and with increased coverage from the bottom to the top.